Representatives from OU participate in the 2nd U7+ Presidential Summit

The 2 ^nd U7+ Presidential Summit was held online from November 23~25 (Japan time).

The U7+ Alliance Summit, established in 2019 in Paris under the patronage of French President Emmanuel Macron, is an opportunity for university leaders from all over the world to discuss, share information, and present their proposals on global challenges to be addressed at the G7 Summit.

This year’s Summit was hosted online by Northwestern University (USA) with cooperation from Columbia University (USA), Georgetown University (USA), and University of California, Berkeley (USA).

From Osaka University, Executive Vice President of Global Engagement KAWAHARA Genta and Executive Assistant to the President ISHIKAWA Mayumi (Professor, Center for Global Initiatives) participated in the summit in place of President NISHIO Shojiro.

Nearly 100 delegates from 48 universities virtually convened for the summit to discuss the subject of Intergenerational Justice , specifically global issues, U7+'s relationship with G7, and Ethical, Legal and Social Issues (ELSI).

Also, a declaration that enshrines sharing the vision of future higher education and improving educational and economic inequality for the next generation was unanimously adopted.

Prior to the Presidential Summit, the U7+ Worldwide Student Forum was held in June and July of this year. 88 students from 22 universities from around the world virtually convened to discuss how universities could respond to climate change, social inequality, and other global issues. From OU, 4 students participated in the Student Forum and reported to President Nishio about the results of the Student Forum and proposals to the Presidential Summit.

In the wake of the remark from the Student Forum which stated that COVID-19 has had a disproportionately large effect on the future of young people, at the Presidential Summit, the delegates discussed the role that universities must play as well.

Next year’s Summit is scheduled to be held in the UK.